Thursday, September 27, 2012

Twitter for Authors Hot off the Presses

I'm excited about being included in my friend Beth's new Twitter book! My guest chapter, "Five Hot Tips for Keeping Your Twitter Groove," offers lessons I learned along the way to finding my Twitter voice, and going from being somewhat indifferent to Twitter to...well...downright excited about it.I admit it...I used to hate Twitter. I was confused by all its strange terms --#FF, and hashtags, even the @symbol.

If book writing and marketing is your thing, but Twitter isn't yet, this book is for you. For many authors, the idea of sharing themselves and their writing with the world through Twitter and other social media platforms can be intimidating and confusing. This great resource book helps you discover simple ways to connect with your audience and potential readers.

In this easy-to-read guide, written by a shy writer, novelist and teacher, Beth Barany, you'll find the confidence and encouragement to step into social media and the how-to steps on what to say, how to find your followers, and how to present yourself in 140 characters or less.

Chapters cover such topics as:

*how get to set up your Twitter profile*how to get comfortable with Twitter*how to craft messages to get your potential readers curious*how to build your network on Twitter*how to use special tools like hashtags and chats*examples of what other writers say on Twitter*how to make best use of your Twitter time*how to use Twitter to build your author career even before you're published

Chapter 7: When Writers Tweet: 5 Hot Tips for Finding and Keeping Your Twitter Groove. I'll share the first one with you as my gift:

Listen. Listen to the Twittersphere and observe what is being tweeted and retweeted. Then strategize. What can you add to the conversation? What's your 140 character point of view? We have gone way beyond the "what I had for breakfast thing," into a realm where significant connections and relationships can be sparked.

So, what say you? Have your marketed your book using Twitter? What are your tips and tricks?